When He saves a man, when He regenerates him, He takes a mass of corrupt humanity, He takes out that heart of stone, puts in a heart of flesh, and makes a new creature! Are you a new creature? Don’t talk to me about praying a prayer, don’t talk to me about church attendance, don’t talk to me about some collegiate Baptist group! Are you a new creature with new affections that drive you to want to do things that are pleasing to God? That is the question! Are you filled with sensuality? Carnality? I sometimes get on my—I do a Twitter thing, in which I put just truths about the gospel. And sometimes I look at the people following me on Twitter, and they’re dressed in such a way I can’t even look at their picture. They say things I can’t even believe!
This is evangelicalism today! Sensual, carnal, unconverted people that have just enough deceptive religion to drive them straight into hell! Are you that kind of person? Or do you have new affections? It’s not, “I truly believe, and in order to be saved, I’m going to prove I really believe by doing a whole bunch of good stuff.” No that’s not what it is! “I truly believe because my eyes have been opened and I see Christ, but my heart has also been transformed so to have righteous affections, and when I look on the perfect righteousness of Christ, I’m irresistibly drawn to Him, I want Him! I must have Him! And when in my foolishness and in my flesh I turn away from Him, I hate myself!
That’s the difference. How many times before I was converted I would be ashamed of my activities; things I would do—a horrible sinner in the university— and swear to myself, and pledge allegiance to my friends that I would never do such a thing again, and then strive with all my might not to fall into that? And yet, the next night, I would be doing the same thing all over again. Until one day, Jesus Christ met me in the library of the University of Texas, and I was converted; I was regenerated. You have fruit and works because of what you are: a new creature! He says, “You believe God is one? You believe in the Shema? “Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God is one?” [Deut. 6:4] You believe that? Great. Demons believe it. [James 2:19] And they give a more proper response than you do, at least they tremble when they hear it!”
You believe in Jesus? Yeah, so do the demons. You think Jesus is Saviour? So do the demons. You think Jesus is Lord? So do the demons. But their piety far exceeds yours, because they tremble when they hear that. It comes out of your mouth like it was something from the Disney channel. That’s not what Christianity is about, it’s not “Do you want to go to Heaven?” The question is, “Do you want Christ?” How do I know that your heart has been regenerated? You want Christ! You want Him! You want to know Him! And you hate it when your heart grows dull.
